


Conversations

by AuroraNova



Series: The Vadari Chronicles [12]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-08 01:30:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19861318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraNova/pseuds/AuroraNova
Summary: "I finally interpreted a scene from Cardassian literature in a way of which he approves."Julian talks to his friends about his new relationship with Garak.





	Conversations

Julian makes good on his promise to tell Kara about the outcome of his dinner at the earliest opportunity, which happens to be a quick stopover at her apartment before he goes to the hospital the following morning.

She loses all interest in her breakfast. “He said yes, didn’t he? Of course he did. I told you he’s crazy about you. Details, Julian. I need details.”

“He told me, ‘The future holds possibilities I never permitted myself to carry.’ That’s a quote from _Moonset over Ankala_ , when the protagonists finally admit their feelings.”

“It’s supposed to be romantic?”

“Very,” confirms Julian, deciding to skip the cultural explanation of why this is the case, at least according to Garak.

“Huh.” She’s unimpressed. Admittedly, Cardassian romance isn’t for everyone.

“Then I kissed him.”

“That’s more like it.”

“After which he decided we should discuss expectations. We’re in agreement on those.”

“What kind of expectations?” asks Kara.

He can’t tell her Garak’s specific request related to any suspicion Section 31 is renewing interest in him, so he settles for, “Monogamy and teamwork, mostly. And his birthday.”

“His birthday?”

“I wanted to know when it was. Then we enjoyed our meal. Well, Garak enjoyed it anyway, and I took great pleasure out of his enthusiasm.” Julian ate his food, except the pickled vegetable peel in the salad, without much regard for the taste. He was too busy being on cloud nine to care if the meal tasted good.

“At least someone liked it,” says Kara.

“The horme-rox wasn’t bad. That was dessert.”

Lutro comes out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel around his waist which, knowing how casual Betazoids are about nudity, is probably for Julian’s benefit. “I take it you’re now a happily partnered man?” he asks.

“Yes,” replies Julian, unable to keep from grinning and not terribly interested in trying.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you. And thank you for stalling Garak last night.”

“Happy to help,” Lutro calls out as he goes into the bedroom.

“You know,” says Kara, “I don’t know how anyone manages interspecies sex without a mental bond.”

Julian didn’t used to have much of a filter between his brain and his mouth – sometimes he still doesn’t, when sufficiently comfortable – but he doubts he’d have ever said _that_.

“We managed just fine.” Twice, even. Yes, some aspects are different, but he and Garak are both quick studies, not to mention highly motivated.

“I mean, it’s hard enough knowing what your partner likes when they’re human. Glad it’s working for you, though.”

So is Julian, though he can’t say he had doubts about their ability to accommodate each other.

“Was he surprised?”

“Oh, yes,” says Julian, happy to leave the subject of his new sex life. “That’s no small feat, either.”

“You two should come over. We’ll have dinner to celebrate, and I’ll make the carrot cake you said he liked.”

It’s not news that Kara wants to celebrate by feeding them. Food is a major mode of expression for her, and Julian doesn’t find it difficult to go along with. Quite the opposite, in fact, though he tries not to get carried away with desserts as a general principle of good health. He almost agrees to dinner outright but stops himself in the nick of time. Leeta and Garak are as different as it’s possible for two humanoids to be, and yet he can see Garak echoing Leeta’s reaction when he accepted a joint invitation without consulting her. The word ‘disrespectful’ was used more than once, and it’s not an experience Julian cares to repeat.

“Thank you. I’ll mention it tonight,” he says. “I have to get to the hospital.”

“I’m glad you stopped by first, though I wasn’t worried. You two are such a good couple.”

Julian thinks so, too, and he bounds into work with a smile on his face.

* * *

The smile is still on his face that evening, when he sits down to comm Miles. It’s no surprise, then, that Miles opens with, “He said yes, then?”

“He did.”

“Figured he would.”

“It feels different for me this time,” says Julian. “Like it can last.”

“Garak’s never going to be one of my favorite people, but if he’s good to you and you’re happy, I’m glad.” Miles is obviously unsure as to why exactly Julian wants to be with Garak, yes, but pleased for him all the same.

“Thank you, Miles.” It means a great deal. Aside from Garak, there are three people in the universe whose opinion Julian remotely cares about, and Miles tops the list. (Ezri is next, and then, to a lesser extent because he hasn’t known her very long, Kara.) While Julian would never let disapproval stop him from doing what he thinks right, he prefers approval or at least acceptance from these three.

“Does this mean he’s not planning to go back to Cardassia?”

“He’d likely be assassinated, possibly set off a civil war in the process.”

“Oh,” says Miles. “Is that how Cardassian politics work?”

“Apparently. It’s more or less a planet of Montagues and Capulets.” At Miles’ blank look, he clarifies, “The feuding families from _Romeo and Juliet_.”

Never interested in Shakespeare, Miles moves on. “He liked your dinner, then.”

“Very much. I finally interpreted a scene from Cardassian literature in a way of which he approves. And he said if he’d known I was an option, he wouldn’t have considered any other.” Julian gets a touch giddy just remembering.

“I guess this makes you the safest man in the Lekastrin Sector.”

That can only be a reference to Garak protecting him from any future threats Section 31 might pose to Julian. Neither of them expect more problems, as long as he plays by the established rules of minding his own business and accepting their revenge, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful. Julian nods. “I imagine it does.”

“Well, good.” Miles leans forward. “I have good news, too."

“Do tell.”

“I heard about beta testing for the latest advance in holographic technology: synchronized programs designed to be run simultaneously from two or more locations. It creates a holographic representation of the other players.”

This is very good news indeed. Julian’s mind races with possibilities. “We could play darts, once there’s enough power here to run the holosuites.”

“Yeah. Any program could be adapted to use this way.”

“I’ll have to write Felix,” says Julian. “Though I’ve lost my taste for secret agent and battle programs.”

He didn’t get very far into Thermopylae before discovering that holographic dead bodies brought to mind real ones, and hasn’t been interested in recreating war since. Somehow, it’s no longer an entertaining diversion. The secret agent program he deleted immediately upon his return from Romulus and will never revisit.

“How do you feel about looking for lost treasure?” he asks.

“Depends on the program. A bar with a dartboard, definitely. Maybe now that you’re together, Garak will stop being jealous of our holosuite time.”

“Jealous?”

“He was. Didn’t I mention that?”

“You did not.” Julian would remember, a fact Miles knows full well.

“Must’ve gotten lost in the mess after Empok Nor.”

Or Miles just didn’t want to deal with it. It hardly matters now. “I’m sure he’ll manage to appreciate that I’ll have fun,” says Julian.

“Damn.”

“What?”

“I just remembered I promised to never have him over. Now if he comes with you to visit, I’ll have no choice.” Miles does not look thrilled at the prospect. He’d much prefer Garak stay on Vadari VII, but to his credit, he’s willing to open his home to Julian’s partner.

“You promised _not_ to invite him over? That’s unusual.”

“He liked it. I think. It’s always hard to be sure with him.”

Not for Julian, not anymore. Regardless, he says, “I’m sure he’ll be willing to overlook it, under the circumstances.”

“He’d better.”

Julian can’t quite picture Garak sitting down to dinner with the O’Brien family. Provided Garak comes with him when he eventually visits Earth, that will be very interesting.

* * *

When his relationship with Garak is a few days old, Julian sends Ezri a message informing her about it, then waits anxiously to hear back. He thinks she’ll be pleased for him, but doesn’t want her to think she was second-best while they were together, and the possibility worries him. 

It’s his day off and Garak’s half-day in his shop, so they’re both home when the computer chimes to alert them of the message. The two-note sequence is designated for Julian’s account.

Garak never gets messages. The Dominion killed anyone who might have sent them.

It’s a video from Ezri. Julian immediately opens the file and finds her smiling. “Hi Julian. Congratulations. I’m really happy for you and Garak.” She means it, he can tell. Ezri is not a convincing liar. “You know, for a while we all thought you two were dating.”

Garak huffs in amusement.

“You can stop worrying about my reaction. You’re my friend and I want you to be happy. Which reminds me, I don’t think I’ve thanked you properly.” She grows serious. “You were right. I would’ve tried to hold on to us too long until it ended in bitterness and we couldn’t have been friends anymore, just because I didn’t want more change… well, anyway, you were right. So, thank you for loving me enough to let me go.”

She’s a remarkable woman, one Julian is proud to call his friend.

“I have appointments. Let’s set up a time to talk live, okay? Bye.”

As the video ends, Garak asks, “Should I be worried that you feel the need for your friends’ approval?”

“I don’t _need_ approval. I’d just like it.”

Garak raises his eyeridges a hair. “I see.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Elim. No matter what anyone says about us.” Julian returns to the couch and punctuates his point with a kiss. “Surely you’ve noticed my habit of doing what I think is right regardless of naysayers.”

“It’s difficult to miss.”

“You love it, really.”

“Do I?”

“Yes,” says Julian, who will never be convinced otherwise. Not that the gleam in Garak’s eye suggests anything other than agreement.

“May I show you something?”

“Of course.”

Garak raises his hand and uses a single finger to trace Julian’s left eyebrow. “This is a gesture of intimacy. Never to be done in public, I should add.”

Julian copies the motion, running his finger lightly over Garak’s left eyeridge. “Does it matter which side?”

“No.”

Most Cardassian expressions of intimacy, Julian has gathered over the years, come back to demonstrating trust. Allowing someone’s finger near your eye fits with this theme. Cardassian corneas are easily scratched. “Is it arousing?”

“No, simply pleasant.”

Julian does it again. “Never in public, understood. Which reminds me, we’re not hiding this, are we?”

“How could we possibly be hiding? You made haste to tell your friends.”

“You know I mean from everyone else.”

“I feel no need for an announcement, nor secrecy.”

It’s completely reasonable. They will simply be themselves, and everyone else will figure it out when they figure it out. The gossip mill loves Julian and Garak, more than either of them would like, so Julian’s credits are on sooner rather than later.

Garak hovers a finger over Julian’s eyes. “Is this agreeable to you?”

“Oh yes.”

As a younger man, Julian never imagined love this way. Now he doesn’t want anything else. When he tells Kara this the next day, she tells him he and Garak are adorable. He replies that she might not want to use that specific adjective in Garak’s earshot.

She lets it slip when they’re over for dinner, and Garak is in such a good mood he lets her off with a glare so mild it barely merits the name. 

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: Ezri's little monologue was partially inspired by my phone randomly playing [Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone,"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0T3WAbU6tg) which I hadn't heard in a few years and immediately thought was a perfect Julian/Ezri breakup song.  
>  _You know that I love you so I love you enough to let you go_ fits what I established in this series really well - and wait, how has it been 10 years since this song came out?!?!


End file.
